Tobacco products and processes therefor



Patented Apr. 15, 1952 TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES THEREFOR Walter G. Frankenburg, Millersville, Pa., and Paul W. Garbo, Freeport, N. Y., assignors, by direct and mesne assignments, to General Cigar 00., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York No Drawing. Continuation of application Serial No. 720,682, January '7, 1947. This application January 30, 1950, Serial No. 141,357

18 Claims.

This application is a continuation of copending application, Serial No. 720,682, filed January 7, 1947 and now abandoned.

This invention relates to tobacco products adapted for smoking, and more particularly to products comprising tobacco in comminuted form.

The manufacture of cigars has reached a high state of development. Today, even a popularpriced cigar requires the careful blending of as many as fifteen to twenty different types and grades of tobacco. In spite of the great advances which have been made in the design of automatic machines, the making of cigars is still characterized by a large proportion of hand work which limits the rate of production and adds considerably to manufacturing costs. Similar problems arise in the manufacture of cigarettes and pipe tobaccos.

A primary object of this invention is to blend several types and grades of tobacco to a degree of homogeneity heretofore not achieved.

A similar object is to mix tobacco homogeneously with additives, such as flavoring agents, combustion catalysts and adsorbents, in a manner which prevents segregation of the mixed components,

Another important object is to simplify the manufacture of cigars and other smoking products.

'Still another important object is to place the manufacture of cigars on a basis more amenable to mechanical operations.

A further object is to curtail the losses of valuable tobacco arising from cutting, stemming, trimming and similar operations practiced in the conventional production of smoking products.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the description which follows.

In accordance with this invention, leaf tobacco which has been processed by drying, curing, sweating, fermenting, aging and similar treatments preparatory to its utilization in the manufacture of cigars and like products is comminuted in any of several well-known types of grinders or pulverizers. The tobacco is generally ground to,

such a degree that all of the particles will pass through a 20-mesh screen and a substantial portion will have a particle size corresponding to the openings of a 40-mesh screen. Considerably coarser and finer tobacco powders are, however,

utilizable for the purposes of this invention. The comminuted tobacco is then converted into a plastic mass by thoroughly mixing the dry powder with a limited quantity of a highly viscous 2 aqueous solution of a water-soluble derivative of cellulose.

The quantity of aqueous solution of cellulose derivative which is admixed with the powdered tobacco is limited to that which yields a plastic mass having a consistency approximating that of a good neat cement mortar. An excess of solution detectable by the tendency of the plastic mass to exude liquid should be avoided since any substantial loss of liquid reflects a loss of extractable constituents in the tobacco and consequent alteration of the original smoking qualities of the tobacco. Usually, one part by weight of comminuted tobacco and about two to six parts by weight of the aqueous solution of cellulose derivative will form a paste of the desired consistency.

The plastic mass of tobacco is rolled out-into sheets or otherwise pressed or formed into desired shapes, e. g., extruded as a rod or ribbon, and water is then evaporated at moderate temperatures not exceeding about C. from the shaped mass to leave a coherent, self-supporting tobacco product. From the foregoing description, it is obvious that the tobacco has not lost any of its constituents during processing nor has it been subjected to any harmful conditions, such as elevated temperatures or strong acids or bases.

Also, comparatively little extraneous matter has entered into the tobacco product. Tobacco processed as hereinabove described is found by tests to have substantially the smokingqualities of the original leaf tobacco. The coherent mass of tobacco particles burns without difficulty and the smoke, judged by experts, has the typical taste and aroma of good quality tobacco.

A very important advantage of the material thus produced is the perfect blending of the various tobaccos used. The homogeneity of the blend results in. a correspondingly high uniformity of the products of smoking. In the usual mixing of separate pieces of different tobaccos, such ideal blending cannot be achieved. The smoke which is generated in the combustion of cigars, cigarettes, pipe tobaccos, etc., containing this new tobacco product, represents at all times the result of the simultaneous combustion and dry distillation of all the tobacco types blended, whereas in ordinary smoking products, the heterogeneous distribution of the various tobacco types results in a changing character of the smoke, both in the course of the combustion of a single cigar, cigarette, or charge of pipe tobacco, and from one cigar to another, one cigarette to another, etc, for products of the same basic composition.

As used in this specification and the appended claims, the term, water-soluble derivative of cellulose, means any water-soluble derivative of cellulose composed solely of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. Advantageously such a derivative is of the type represented by the formula:

( (i 'I 2( )3I)n'( Q)zn Cellulose radical Solubilizing radical showing an ether linkage between the cellulose radical and the solubilizing radical. In the formula, n is a number corresponding to the number of cellulose units in the particular cellulose used, a: is a number not greater than 3 depending upon the number of hydroxyl groups in the cellulose unit replaced by ether-linked solubilizing radicals and Q is a radical containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms, preferably 2 carbon atoms. Generally, the more oxygen atoms there are in the radical Q, the better it is for the purposes of this invention; oxygen present in the form of -OH groups is particularly desirable. Representative water-soluble derivatives of cellulose successfully used in this invention are:

Methyl cellulose, (CeH'zO2(OI-I) 3 1) 11, CH3) am Carboxymethyl cellulose,

(CGH'IOZ (OH) 3a:) n CH2 COOH) am.

Hydroxyethyl cellulose,

(CsHvOz (OH) 3-x) 1v (0 CH2'CH2OH) :cn

It is well to note that in the production of certain water soluble derivatives, for instance, hydroxyethyl cellulose by the reaction between alkali cellulose and ethylene oxide, the reactant furnishing the solubilizing radical to the cellulose may at the same time undergo polymerization.

has an acid grouping as in the case of carboxymethyl cellulose, it may be used in the form of the corresponding salt, usually the sodium or potassium salt; the prior statement that the water-soluble derivative of cellulose is composed solely of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen is not intended to exclude the water-soluble salts, e. g., alkali metal salts, of acid-type derivatives of cellulose. At any given temperature and concentration, the viscosity of the aqueous solution of a cellulose derivative will vary with the molecular complexity or weight of its cellulose radical (factor n) as Well as with the degree of etherification (factor x). In the foregoing formulae, the factor n is a convenient means used to indicate the polymeric nature of cellulose.

The invention contemplates the use of mixed water-soluble derivatives of cellulose not only in the sense of mixtures of two or more separate and different derivatives but also in the sense of single derivatives having two or-more difierent 'substituents associated with the cellulose. in accordance with the first sense, a mixture of equal parts by weight of methyl cellulose and sodium salt of carboxymethyl cellulose may be Thus,

employed as the binding agent for tobacco products prepared by the process of this invention. In the other sense, suitable binders are high viscosity grades of single, water-soluble cellulose derivatives having two or more different substituents, which may be exemplified by a cellulose derivative of the type of methyl ethyl cellulose or ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose. It is well to observe that in a water-soluble cellulose derivative with two or more different substituents not all of the substituents need to be substituents or radicals which exert a solubilizing effect on cellulose when dispersed in water. For example, a mixed cellulose ether might have a relatively small proportion of hexyl radicals serving as one substituent and a relatively large proportion of carboxymethyl radicals serving as the solubilizing substituent. In further connection with the thought that the cellulose need not be heavily substituted to yield a water-soluble derivative adapted for the purpose of this invention, it is interesting to note that the sodium salt of carboxymethyl cellulose used in the examples presented hereinafter is reported to have only 0.4 to 0.6 carboxymethyl group for each anhydroglucose unit of the cellulose molecule or, in other words, for each cellulose radical of the type formula shown hereinbefore.

From the foregoing it is clear that cellulose ethers which are water-soluble and form viscous solutions are particularly useful in this invention. However, the invention is not limited to such ethers and contemplates the use of any suitable water-soluble cellulose derivatives, e. g., cellulose esters made up entirely of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms.

The success of the novel tobacco products of this invention is attributable to the use of cellulose derivatives having several critical properties. An index of suitable water-soluble cellulose derivatives is the viscosity. A suitable cellulose derivative is one yielding a viscosity of at least 1500 centipoises at a temperature of 25 C. when a small quantity thereof not exceeding about 2% by weight is dissolved in water. These cellulose derivatives not only must dissolve in water and yield at low concentrations highly viscous solutions but also must be capable of forming a coherent, tough sheet or mass when their aqueous solutions are evaporated to dryness. The behavior of the cellulose derivative in solution facilitates the preparation of the plastic mass containing the finely divided tobacco as well as the subsequent pressing and shaping of the mass into desired forms. The physical characteristics of the cellulose derivative as deposited from its aqueous solution contribute cohesiveness and flexibility to the tobacco product after it has been dried and conditioned to a desirable moisture content. Accordingly, the product can be easily handled in the manufacture of cigars and other smoking products without encountering any serious crumbling of the product. It will, of course, be appreciated that where some of the product has crumbled because of careless handling, the crumbled material does not represent a loss since it is in a form readily reconvertible to a coherent mass in accordance with the procedure of this invention. Such material may be reworked with water alone or it may be mixed with another batch of comminuted tobacco which is to be processed by my invention; in the latter case, the quantity of cellulose derivative used in the mixture would be adjusted to compensate for the amount in the reworked portion. That properly chosen water-soluble cellulose derivatives should be so effective in producing coherent, self-supporting masses of powdered tobacco is indeed surprising when it is reflected that the finished tobacco product contains less than 20% of the cellulose derivative based on the weight of the tobacco, and frequently less than about The preferred tobacco compositions contain about 4% to 8% of admixed cellulose derivative based on the weight of the tobacco.

The smoking compatibility of water-soluble cellulose derivatives and tobacco should be safeguarded by the exercise of care in selecting cellulose derivatives in a state of refinement. The refined products should be free of any appreciable quantities of extraneous matter containing compounds of nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus and the halogens; in short, compounds giving undesirable products of combustion or of dry distillation should be avoided.

It is advantageous to add a small proportion of bentonite or other water-swelling clay to the mixture of tobacco and cellulose derivative. Generally, additions of the order of 1% to 2% by weight of bentonite, based on the Weight of dry tobacco powder used, are recommended. It appears that bentonite on swelling in the wet plastic mass of tobacco tends to form a coherent inorganic skeleton or reinforcing network which improves the physical properties of the final product. Tobacco compositions of this invention containing bentonite or like mineral not only are stronger, i. e., show less tendency to crack or crumble, but also exhibit improved smoking characteristics. Moreover, the product burns with a firm, coherent ash. The bentonite tends to adsorb or filter out undesirable tarry constituents and alkaloids of tobacco smoke as it is drawn through the unburned portion of the bentonite-containing tobacco product.

It is often advisable, where the product of this invention is made in sheet form and is later rolled or bent sharply as in making cigars, that the product contain a plasticizer to increase the flexibility and cracking resistance of the sheet. Additions of glycerine of the order of 2% to by weight, based on the weight of dry tobacco used, to mixtures of comminuted tobacco and aqueous solutions of cellulose derivatives with or without bentonite exert an appreciable plasticizing efiect. The presence of glycerine in these amounts in the tobacco product does not lead to the formation of unpleasant or troublesome products of complete or incomplete combustion. In the cigarette industry, glycerine is frequently used as a humectant in the tobacco without adverse effects from the viewpoint of smoking. Sorbitol may be substituted for at least part of the plasticizing glycerine.

.It is sometimes advantageous to use two or more water-soluble cellulose derivatives in compounding a tobacco product of this invention. Furthermore, water-soluble cellulose derivatives may be successfully used in combination with water-soluble acid polysaccharide compounds, such as sodium alginate, as disclosed in the copending application, Serial No. 677,107, of Walter G. Frankenburg, filed on June 15, 1946, now abandoned.

The water-soluble cellulose derivatives of this invention may. also be used in making the highly resilient tobacco sheets or bodies disclosed in another copending application, Serial No. 692,775,

of Walter G. Frankenburg, filed on August 24, 1946. The latter application teaches that tocombined with the finely divided tobacco. The

glass fibers may be used in the form of loose fibers or in the form of very thin fiber mats. A paste comprising tobacco powder and a viscous aqueous solution of binder may be applied to one or both sides of a thin mat of glass fibers. This invention contemplates the inclusion of glass fibers in the tobacco compositions discussed herein.

In the interests of better understanding and greater clarity, illustrative embodiments of the invention are presented hereinbelow in detail. In these examples, which are not to be construed in any restrictive sense, the proportions mentioned are all based on a common weight unit.

Example 1 Air-dried Pennsylvania leaf tobacco was passed through a Raymond pulverizer operating with a screen of medium-size apertures. The comminuted tobacco comprised a predominant frac tion of particles in the size range 20 to 40 mesh. A highly viscous solution (of the order of 50,000 centipoises at 25 C.) was prepared by dissolving 8 parts of the sodium salt of carboxymethyl cellulose (extra high viscosity type) in 375 parts of water; 12 parts of glyoerine were mixed with the aqueous viscous solution. The resulting composite liquid was added with stirring and kneading to 100 parts of the pulverized tobacco. The pasty mass obtained by combining the liquid and the tobacco powder had a consistency like that of freshly prepared neat cement mortar and showed no tendency to exude liquid on standing. The pasty mass was placed on plate glass and covered with a sheet of wax paper. With the aid of a roller, the mass was pressed out between the wax paper and plate glass into a layer about & inch thick. The wax paper was removed and the plastic layer on the plate glass was transferred to a drying chamber in which air at a temperature of 50 C. was circulated. When the moisture content of the tobacco mass had been brought down to about 16%, the product was withdrawn from the drying chamber. The sheet of comminuted tobacco thus produced was selfsupporting and fairly pliable. Conditioning of this sheet at 10 C. and at a relative humidity of increased its plasticity and flexibility considerably. The sheet was put up in the form of small rolls and, in other tests, in the form of irregularly shaped bunches which were then encased with a fine wrapper of Sumatra tobacco. In the cigars thus produced, it is clear that the roll or bunch of sheeted tobacco made in accordance with this invention replaced the filler leaf tobacco and binder leaves conventionally used in cigar manufacture. In blindfold smoking tests, the cigars of this example were not consistently distinguished from ordinary cigars containing the same tobaccos.

Example 2 A viscous solution was prepared by dissolving 7.5 parts of methyl cellulose (4000 cps. type) in 350 parts of water. To this solution were added parts of glycerine and 3 parts of sorbitol. A blend of American and Turkish tobaccos ground to particles chiefly in the size range of to mesh was mixed with the solution to form a consistent paste; 100 parts of tobacco blend were used. The thoroughly mixed paste was then extruded through a slit 2 inches long and ,4, inch wide. The extruded ribbon of tobacco paste was deposited on a moving band of wire cloth and dried while on this band by means of a dry air stream at C. After the ribbon of compacted tobacco powder was dried to a moisture content of 19%, it was cut into shreds of the ordinary size used in cigarette manufacture. These shreds were fed into a cigarette machine. The cigarettes made with this material were remarkable for the mildness and aroma of their smoke.

Example 3 A tobacco blend was made by comlninuting together 40 parts of Wisconsin binder tobacco, 44 parts of Pennsylvania tobacco and 16 parts of Havana tobacco. The dry powdered mass was mixed with a viscous liquid suspension containing 400 parts of water, 3 parts of the sodium salt of oarboxymethyl cellulose (high viscosity type), 3 parts of refined sodium alginate, 10 parts of glycerine and l parts of silky glass fibers (length about 1 to 1.5 inch). The resulting paste was pressed out in sheet form and dried in the manner described in Example 1. The finished tobacco sheet showed considerable flexibility and resiliency and passed critical smoking tests.

The invention further contemplates the incorporation, where desired, or" additives in the coherent mass of powdered tobacco. Thus, organic substances can be added to the aqueous solutions of cellulose derivatives in order to impart a desirable flavor to the smoke of the resulting tobacco product. In all cases, the incorporation and conservation of the additives is greatly facilitated by the fact that they are imbedded in the bulk of the tobacco mass and are not merely adhering to the surfaces of the leaves, as is the case with additives used with leaf tobacco.

Other valuable additives are ingredients which impart light texture and porosity to the tobacco product. For instance, the addition of diatomaceous earth, advantageously in the proportion of 5% to 10% of the weight of the powdered tobacco, results in a material of relatively high porosity and low density. With some tobaccos,

this favors combustion and a high aroma content in the smoke.

The present invention is not to be confused with any suggestions made in prior patents of which a large number issued during the period of 1860- to 1900. These prior proposals generally treated waste tobacco in substantially the same way in which wood, rags, straw, bagasse, etc., are pulped in the manufacture of paper. Some of the later patents acknowledge that the tobacco so converted to paper had lost practically all of the constituents which make tobacco suitable for smoking, and attempted to correct this deficiency by impregnating the tobacco paper with a concentrated decoction obtained by boiling a suspension of tobacco in water. However, all of these earlier schemes failed because it was not appreciated that tobacco and tobacco extracts are inherently delicate and unstable and that even moderate variations in such factors as temperature and hydrogen-ion concentration may adversely effect the tobacco or tobacco extracts by causing decomposition, oxidation, polymerization or other chemical reactions of the compounds in tobacco. In contrast to these prior unsuccessful efforts, the present invention involves the mildest conditions of treatment and avoids the pulping of the tobacco in water or other processing liquid which would extract many soluble tobacco compounds and thus leave an impoverished and deteriorated tobacco product. By way of explanation, the success of the present invention is attributable to the critical selection of water-soluble cellulose derivatives which in aqueous solution are so viscous that substantially no extraction of the tobacco powder occurs during admixture of the powder and viscous solution and which also have the property of binding together the tobacco particles when the admixture is dried.

While the invention is particularly suited for homogeneously blending several tobaccos in a single product, it is still importantly useful in converting even one type or grade of leaf tobacco to a form more uniform in quality and more adapted to mechanical production of cigars and the like. Whether one or several tobaccos are comminuted and made into the products of this invention, the savings in manual labor and tobacco as well as the improvement of smoking properties cannot be overemphasized.

It should be observed that while the products of this invention are made up of comminuted tobacco and a water-soluble cellulose derivative acting as hinder, the products may ultimately have the water-soluble cellulose derivative in an insolubilized state because of aging or other natural tendencies or because of special treatments to render the derivative insoluble after the tobacco product has been formed. For instance, a tobacco sheet, prepared by mixing powdered tobacco with a viscous aqueous solution of the sodium salt of carboxymethyl cellulose to yield a consistent paste and by rolling the paste out into a thin layer, might be insolubilized at least in part by contacting the wet layer with a polyvalent metal salt, e. g., a calcium, aluminum or magnesium salt, and by drying the thus treated layer. It is obvious that, after the tobacco product has been compounded and pressed into the desired form, any insolubilization of the water-soluble cellulose derivative used as the binding agent may not be detrimental but rather may be beneficial. Sometimes, metal salts or other substances naturally present in the tobacco may partially insolubilize the water-soluble cellulose derivative which has been compounded with the tobacco to-form a tobacco product in accordance with the principles of this invention.

Those skilled in the art will visualize many other modifications and variations of the invention set forth hereinabove without departing from its spirit and scope. Accordingly, the claims should not be interpreted in any restrictive sense other than that imposed by the limitations recited within the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A tobacco product adapted for smoking, which comprises a predominant proportion of dry-ground tobacco and a minor proportion, not exceeding 20% by weight of said tobacco, of a water-soluble cellulose derivative having the property of forming an aqueous solution with a viscosity of at least 1500 centipoises at a temperature of 25% C. when not more than about 2% by weight of said cellulose derivative is dissolved in water, said cellulose derivative functioning to hold the particles of said tobacco together as a coherent mass.

2. The product of claim 1 wherein the watersoluble cellulose derivative is plasticized by glycerine in an amount corresponding to 2% to 15% by weight of the dry-ground tobacco.

3. The product of claim 1 wherein the Watersoluble cellulose derivative is a cellulose ether of the .type represented by the formula:

wherein Q is a radical containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms, a: is a number not greater than 3 and n is a factor indicating the polymeric nature of 2% by Weight of said cellulose derivative is dissolved in water, said cellulose derivative functioning to hold the particles of said tobacco together as a coherent mass.

7. The product of claim 6 wherein the watersoluble cellulose derivative is an alkali metal salt of carboxymethyl cellulose.

8. The product of claim 7 wherein the alkali metal salt of carboxymethyl cellulose is plasticiized by glycerine in an amount corresponding to 2% to 15% by weight of the dry-ground tobacco.

9. The product of claim 6 wherein the watersoluble cellulose derivative is methyl cellulose.

10. The product of claim 9 wherein the methyl cellulose is plasticized by glycerine in an amount corresponding to 2% to 15% by weight of the dry-ground tobacco.

11. A tobacco product in physically continuous and coherent form characterized by flexibility and adaptability for smoking, which comprises a predominant proportion of dry-ground tobacco, a minor proportion, not exceeding about 10% by weight of said tobacco, of a water-soluble cellulose derivative having the property of forming an aqueous solution with a viscosity of at least 1500 centipoises at a temperature of 25 C. when not more than about 2% by weight of said cellulose derivative is dissolved in water, and a minor proportion, lesser than said minor proportion of cellulose derivative and not exceeding about 5% by weight of said tobacco, of fine flexible glass fibers, said cellulose derivative and said glass fibers holding the particles of said tobacco together in said physically continuous and coherent form.

12. The product of claim 11 wherein the watersoluble cellulose derivative is an alkali metal salt of carboxymethyl cellulose.

13. The product of claim 11 wherein the Watersoluble cellulose is methyl cellulose.

14. The improved process of converting tobacco into a physically continuous and coherent form adapted for smoking, which comprises drygrinding tobacco, mixing the dry-ground tobacco and a viscous aqueous solution of a water-soluble cellulose derivative in proportions to form a cohesive paste substantially free of exudation, said viscous aqueous solution having a viscosity of at least 1500 centipoises at a temperature of 25 C. and said cellulose derivative yielding a viscosity of at least 1500 centipoises at a temperature of 25 C. when not more than about 2% by weight thereof is dissolved in water, and shaping and drying said paste into a desired, physically continuous and coherent form adapted for smoking.

15. The process of claim 14 wherein the watersoluble cellulose derivative is an alkali metal salt of carboxymethyl cellulose.

16. The process of claim 14 wherein the watersoluble cellulose derivative is methyl cellulose.

17. The improved process of converting tobacco into a thin sheet adapted for the manufacture of cigars, which comprises dry-grinding tobacco, mixing the dry-ground tobacco and a viscous aqueous solution of methyl cellulose in proportions to form a cohesive paste substantially free of exudation, said viscous aqueous solution containing not more than about 2% by weight of said cellulose and having a viscosity of at least 1500 centipoises at a temperature of 25 C., and forming and drying said paste into a thin sheet adapted for the manufacture of cigars.

18. The improved process of converting tobacco into a thin sheet adapted for the manufacture of cigars, which comprises dry-grinding tobacco, mixing the dry-ground tobacco and a viscous aqueous solution of the sodium salt of carboxymethyl cellulose in proportions to form a cohesive paste substantially free of exudation, said viscous aqueous solution containing not more than about 2% by weight of said carboxymethyl cellulose and having a viscosity of at least 1500 centipoises at a temperature of 25 C., and form.- ing and drying said paste into a thin sheet adapted for the manufacture of cigars.

WALTER G. FRANKENBURG. PAUL W. GARBO.

REFERENEES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 21,558 Durell Sept. 21, 1858 64,591 Stayrnan May 7, 1867 2,180,152 Kohler Nov. 14, 1939 2,307,088 Whiteley Jan. 5, 1943 2,433,877 Wells et al. Jan. 6, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 879,939 France -1 Mar. 9, 1943 

1. A TOBACCO PRODUCT ADAPTED FOR SMOKING, WHICH COMPRISES A PREDOMINANT PROPORTION OF DRY-GROUND TOBACCO AND A MINOR PROPORTION, NOT EXCEEDING 20% BY WEIGHT OF SAID TOBACCO, OF A WATER-SOLUBLE CELLULOSE DERIVATIVE HAVING THE PROPERTY OF FORMING AN AQUEOUS SOLUTION WITH A VISCOSITY OF AT LEAST 1500 CENTIPOISES AT A TEMPERATURE OF 25% C. WHEN NOT MORE THAN ABOUT 2% BY WEIGHT OF SAID CELLULOSE DERIVATIVE IS DISSOLVED IN WATER, SAID CELLULOSE DERIVATIVE FUNCTIONING TO HOLD THE PARTICLES OF SAID TOBACCO TOGETHER AS A COHERENT MASS.
 14. THE IMPROVED PROCESS OF CONVERTING TOBACCO INTO A PHYSICALLY CONTINUOUS AND COHERENT FORM ADAPTED FOR SMOKING, WHICH COMPRISES DRYGRINDING TOBACCO, MIXING THE DRY-GROUND TOBACCO AND A VISCOUS AQUEOUS SOLUTION OF A WATER-SOLUBLE CELLULOSE DERIVATIVE IN PROPORTIONS TO FORM, A COHESIVE PASTE SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OF EXUDATION, SAID VISCOUS AQUEOUS SOLUTION HAVING A VISCOSITY OF AT LEAST 1500 CENTIPOISES AT A TEMPERATURE OF 25* C. AND SAID CELLULOSE DERIVATIVE YIELDING A VISCOSITY OF AT LEAST 1500 CENTIPOISES AT A TEMPERATURE OF 25* C. WHEN NOT MORE THAN ABOUT 2% BY WEIGHT THEREOF IS DISSOLVED IN WATER, AND SHAPING AND DRYING SAID PASTE INTO A DESIRED, PHYSICALLY CONTINUOUS AND COHERENT FORM ADAPTED FOR SMOKING. 